Labour bloc receives extra weight in NDP leadership vote

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OTTAWA — The NDP constitution lays out a fairly simple formula for the election of the leader: One member, one vote is how it goes.

What complicates issues is the party's labour wing, a founding member of the NDP that earns itself a minimum 25 per cent of the leadership vote.

If the minimum isn't met, then the party will either allocate extra ballots to the labour bloc, or give more weight to each labour vote.

At a leadership vote, the candidates with the lowest vote totals drop off in subsequent rounds until one candidate emerges with at least 50 per cent plus one of the votes.

Delegates at the leadership convention vote in person while registered members vote online. Mail-in votes are cascading ballots with members selecting which candidates they prefer first, second, third, fourth and so on based on the total number of candidates in the race.

Anyone is eligible to apply to run for the leadership of the party, but they all must go through a vetting process. That process is similar to the one used in the May election campaign where candidates underwent a thorough background check, filled out a detailed disclosure form and gave the party's campaign manager the right to reject any application.

In the coming weeks, the exact timeliness and rules for a leadership vote will be set by the party's governing council, a massive body made up of executives, caucus members, 30 labour members, provincial and territorial members, 12 youth members and at least six members of the party's Women Commission.

While a meeting of the council hasn't been set, it will likely meet after Labour Day.

At the meeting, the council is expected to set an exact date for a leadership vote and deadlines for candidate applications and voter registration.

NDP interim leader Nycole Turmel said Tuesday that the party still plans to hold a leadership vote in January, just as Jack Layton recommended.

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